The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today announced University of 91吃瓜鈥檚 Professor submitted one of the highest scoring proposals, designated as the Top 100, in its competition for a single $100 million grant to help solve one of the world鈥檚 most critical social challenges.
Rohr鈥檚 proposal 鈥� Disease, Food, Energy, and Water Solutions (DFEWS): Defusing a Global Crisis 鈥� offers a sustainable, local solution to reduce schistosomiasis while at the same time addressing food, energy and water shortages afflicting marginalized populations throughout the developing world.
Schistosomiasis is a disease originating in tiny snails that feed on aquatic plants and release parasitic flatworms into the water. Villagers routinely come into contact with the parasites as they gather water, clean clothes and bathe. Today, over 200 million people are infected with this disease and 700 million more are at risk. These people are simultaneously experiencing shortages of food, energy and water 鈥� more than 225 million people are undernourished in Africa, 32 out of 48 African countries are in an energy crisis and the economies of sub-Saharan Africa lose 40 billion hours per year collecting water.
To solve these problems, Rohr鈥檚 team uses validated, satellite imagery based approaches to map where the snails live, highlighting schistosomiasis hotspots. Clearing the submerged aquatic plants effectively removes the habitat for snails that cause schistosomiasis. Not only does this process significantly increase open water access necessary for obtaining water for cooking and washing clothes, it has already resulted in a 103-fold reduction in snails, and has significantly decreased schistosomiasis reinfection rates among children in field trials recently conducted in Senegal. The aquatic plant biomass is turned into compost and livestock feed to enhance food supplies, and it is used as fuel for biodigesters to increase energy production 鈥� a process that is taught to villagers to keep the solution sustainable. Rohr鈥檚 team is actively working to defuse a global crisis by simultaneously and sustainably addressing disease, food, energy and water issues with a solution that can be scaled to other developing countries.
鈥淢y colleagues and I are so excited to be involved in work that can better the lives of some of the most disadvantaged people on the planet and do it in a sustainable manner. Moreover, it is greatly satisfying to participate in research that is so consistent with the University of 91吃瓜鈥檚 vision to be a healing, unifying and enlightening force for a world deeply in need,鈥� Rohr said.
The Top 100 proposals represent the top 21 percent of competition submissions that have been rigorously evaluated against : impactful, evidence-based, feasible and durable. The proposal was subject to MacArthur鈥檚 initial administrative review, a review, an evaluation by an and a technical review by specialists whose expertise was matched to the project.
鈥淛ason鈥檚 inclusion聽in the Top 100 for the MacArthur 100&Change competition is a true accomplishment and a testament to the importance of and potential impact for his research,鈥� said Mary Galvin, the William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science at the University of 91吃瓜.聽鈥淕etting this far is an immense achievement and our entire community is excited to witness Jason鈥檚 research progress as he works to execute 91吃瓜鈥檚 mission to be a powerful means for doing good in the world.鈥澛�
The MacArthur Foundation seeks to generate increased recognition, exposure and support for the high-impact ideas designated as the Top 100. Since the inaugural competition, other funders and philanthropists have committed an additional $419 million to date to support bold solutions by聽100&Change聽applicants. Building on the success of 100&Change, MacArthur created to unlock significant philanthropic capital by helping donors find and fund vetted, high-impact opportunities through the design and management of customized competitions. In conjunction, the MacArthur Foundation launched the , featuring the University of 91吃瓜 as one of the Top 100 from 100&Change. The searchable online collection of submissions contains a project overview, 90-second video and two-page factsheet for each proposal. The Bold Solutions Network was designed to provide an innovative approach to identifying the most effective, enduring solutions aligned with donors鈥� philanthropic goals, and to help top applicants gain visibility and funding from a wide array of funders.
Jason Rohr is the Ludmilla F., Stephen J., and Robert T. Galla College Professor of and affiliated faculty member with and the .